There have been some big introductions that opened my eyes to the world of fashion. My first, my mom, THE INFLUENCER, but here are a few others:
My cousin Karen, an excellent seamstress, walked me through my first design experience by advising on and sewing one of my sketches. That same year, Karen encouraged me to go to New York City.
She introduced me to Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), by giving me a gigantic, glossy catalogue of all the courses and images of campus life.At 15, I knew that’s where I needed to be. But I had decided to become a fashion designer much, much earlier — from the time I could hold a pencil. I would sit for hours drawing whatever was around me.
I later graduated to fashion illustration, adopting beautifully dressed models inside the pages of Ebony and Essence magazines as my muses. These publications represented the best of Black culture with images of beautiful Black stars gracing the pages.
Standouts for me were The Pointer Sisters’ and their fabulous vintage style and Diana Ross, gloriously outfitted in her starring role in the film, Mahogany among others. These fashion images actually changed something within me. I grew to love vintage dressing and the beautiful handwork involved in making clothing and accessories.
The first time I watched Mahogany, Diana Ross’ character leaves design class and continues sketching on the train. Her ‘I-am-an-original!’ and ‘You-won’t-stop-me!’ attitude was so powerful. That moment is when I decided to become a fashion designer. I saved every issue of Essence magazine which became a tactile reference library for me.
Little did I know that years later I would meet some of the people gracing its pages and how gracious they would be to me as I began my creative journey in NYC. Two people who had the most impact on my dream are cultural architect April Walker, the hip-hop fashion trailblazer, and playwright/ educator Myla Churchill.
I met April around 2003-04 in Brooklyn, where we both lived at the time; she, in Fort Greene and me, in Bed-Stuy. I’d taken a break from corporate fashion life to pursue millinery. At the time, April was leading a small group of fashion startups into the world of entrepreneurship, brand building and community cultivation. I’ve watched her journey over the years, and she continues to inspire me.
Myla, artist, writer, film connoisseur, fierce card player and one of my biggest cheerleaders, left all who knew her a rich legacy in 2014. We lived in the same brownstone. What she said late one evening as we sat on the stoop stays with me today: “You are very lucky to have the freedom to do whatever you want to do. This is your gift, so go for it.”
I was lucky to have them and all the other sisters who have supported me through the years. Advice: “Consider a path that embraces what comes to you naturally. There is an opportunity there and your passion for it will keep you on the path.”
Three outstanding women inspired the process that led to the creation of my Kwrky Hats Collection: my mother, Syl Whittingham, designer Brenda Brunson-Bey, and Visual Artist Aleathia Brown
As a child, I watched my mother as she meticulously executed Vogue Couture patterns as a child. I was amazed watching her craft and uplift her community. It delighted me to see how her skills brought joy to her clientele. As a little girl she taught me to knit, crochet, needlepoint and sew. This experience ignited the designer in me.
In retrospect with more than four decades as a fashion creator, it started with my disco dresses and has evolved to Kwrky Hats. My second inspiration came in the early 80’s, through my neighbor, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. An innovator in the design industry tapping into her cultural heritage as her identity.
I admired her fierce unapologetic way of designing; she applied and combined fabric and textures in unconventional ways. I used to take her remnants and make hats and accessories. That neighbor was in fact, Brenda Brunson Bey of Tribal Truths Collection.
My third inspiration came from a sister friend, Aleathia Brown, a noted visual artist who loves hats. In fact, I had never seen one person own and wear so many different hats.
I had yarn I didn’t want to store nor discard. So, I amused myself and made a silly hat that I knew only one person would dare to wear. I happen to give it to my friend Aleathia Brown at a Diaspora Arts Collective event, held at Sister’s Place, Brooklyn and hosted by Brenda Brunson Bey, March 2021. When Brenda inquired, “Aleathia where did you get that hat?” Aleathia pointed to me. The rest is history. It was the Sistership of these two talented women Brenda and Aleathia that inspired the birth and launching of the Kwrky Hats Collection.
by Susan Patterson Founder & CEO, ArtfromthePlanet The very first woman who influenced my art was my mother, Sarah. She made about 90% of my clothing and paid close attention to fiber content, quality, and even the number of stitches per inch. That level of care taught me early that craftsmanship lives in the details.
My mother also studied interior design, which helped shape my love for home décor. She always told me to look closely not just at the fabric itself, but at the story behind it: where it came from, how it was made, and what it carried.
Another key influence was my sister, Carolyn, who introduced me to quilting. She would bring me to quilting meetings where the women spoke in codes. I’ll admit it, at first, I thought they were dealing drugs. Turns out they were dealing in fabric.
I still remember one show-and-tell in particular. A quilter presented a log cabin quilt, and I was hooked. With what I’d learned about fabric, stitches, and color, I was on my way. I’ve been in a love affair with fabric for more than 42 years.
To me, fabric is spiritual; it comes from the earth. And that belief is exactly why my business is called Artfromtheplanet. Instagram: @artfromtheplanet Website: https://www.artfromtheplanet.co
by Renee L. Harris President and Founder I.E. Spa Indulgences LLC
Twelve years ago, my sister-friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her diagnosis, we learned we were consuming many unhealthy chemicals through our skin. From there, we started researching organic ingredients and remembering the natural remedies we grew up on lessons from our ancestors.
I would share my learnings with her, and she would encourage me to stay on my quest. In her goal to practice a healthier lifestyle, I began making natural skin-moisturizing products, selecting the best ingredients that she could have confidence in using while undergoing her treatments.
At the time, I was in another career, so I gave the skincare products away. I was not planning to start a wellness business, but I could not ignore the demand for the products, my entrepreneurial spirit, and my dream of owning a spa.
I took a year to perfect my recipes, gather feedback from a diverse market, conduct deeper research and testing, set up the legalities, produce marketing collateral, and marry all of that with my love of spas.
In 2015, my I.E. Spa Indulgences was born. My objective was for it to be a healthy-lifestyle brand, accessible to everyone at an affordable price. I wanted everyone to feel the love poured into my handmade products and remember to treat themselves to an at-home spa experience with something special and good for them.
My sister-friend stayed on course with her medical regimen and is cancer-free now. We remain each other’s strongest champions. The I.E. Spa Indulgences product names do not make any claims nor are they intended to treat or cure any condition or disease. The names are intended to describe the properties associated with the products.
Customers purchase products with the expressed agreement and a clear understanding that they are using the products at their own discretion. www.ie-spa-indulgences.com
by Yvette Moore March International Women’s “Herstory” Month is a time for spotlighting remarkable women and their amazing gifts. Women like Cynthia Doris Pinn, treasurer of Brooklyn’s Community Board 3; chair of its Housing and Land Use Committee, and treasurer for many other community organizations.
“I have been fortunate to be able to lose myself in service to some extraordinary organizations doing some very important work,” Ms. Pinn told Our Time Press in a recent interview.
“My professional career was mostly in nonprofit in the area of women’s health and, as a volunteer, for more than 30 years, in organizations empowering older adults; enriching the lives of our children and providing political information to the community.” In addition to her work on Community Board 3, Ms. Pinn also serves as treasurer of the Bedford Stuyvesant Early Childhood Development Center Inc., an organization caring for children and supporting families for more than six decades; and as a consultant for Fort Greene Council Inc., providing services to older adults in Central Brooklyn for more than 50 years, including the renown Jazz966 music program.
Ms. Pinn also serves as treasurer of Vanguard Independent Democratic Association, Inc. (VIDA), the 52-year-old Black political club founded by the late Brooklyn-based, nationally known political leader Albert Vann. “Al Vann named me community treasurer because I’ve been treasurer of 90 million organizations!” she said. “The thing is that accountants don’t volunteer for boards. You can get volunteer treasurers, but they’re not necessarily financial professionals. That’s what I’ve done with my degree.”
And volunteering is also how Ms. Pinn got into accounting in the first place. From childhood, she was known to be good with numbers. Born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents from Barbados, she married and was wife for 58 years to the late Dr. Sam Pinn, Founder and Chair of the Fort Greene Council and Co-Founder and Director of Jazz966. She always considered herself a “numbers person,” but when she returned to school after raising her children at home for 13 years, she did so as a social work major.
C.Doris Pinn and late husband Sam Pinn. Photo by Berrnice Green
“When I went to college, you became a nurse, a teacher or a social worker. Those are the professions that you were supposed to go into,” Ms. Pinn said. “I didn’t want to do those things, but I didn’t know to do anything else.” Fortunately, she was starting school the same year her husband, Sam, was starting the Fort Greene Council, and she volunteered to help where there was a need. She then attended The City of New York’s training program for bookkeepers for new community organizations. “The Fort Greene Council didn’t have any staff, so I thought, as a volunteer, I will go to the training then come back and train the person the Council hired,” she said.
“So, I went to the training. Poof, a light went on: ‘This is what I’m supposed to be doing!’ I immediately switched my major.” Ms. Pinn pursued a degree in accounting from Brooklyn College, a Master’s in Business Administration with Distinction from Long Island University (LIU), and a post- graduate certificate from New York University (NYU) in management for not-for-profit organizations.
“It was always my desire to work to serve in the community,” she said. “I always said, I had no desire to help rich people and corporations count their money. With the super-rich, there’s never enough money. “As an accountant, just looking at it from that perspective, they’re spending the same amount of money that they don’t want to pay in taxes on lawyers and accountants to keep them from paying taxes! They are spreading the wealth to other people who are also wealthy as opposed to spreading the wealth to those in need. That’s the issue.”
“Doris has actively promoted political education and financial responsibility in Bedford Stuyvesant. As our longest-active member, she is a valuable asset in serving the VIDA community,” said Henry Butler, State Committeeman/District Leader.
Ms. Deborah Knight, Executive Member of Bedford Stuyvesant Early Childhood Development Center, Inc. Board said, “Doris does much more than oversee figures; her commitment and guidance consistently make a difference in the lives of our children enrolled in our Head Start program.
“It is both an honor and a privilege to collaborate with Mrs. Cynthia Pinn,” stated Ms. Claudette Macey, Executive Director of Ft. Greene Council, Inc. She added, “All of her actions are clearly guided by her genuine commitment to serving the older adult community.”
“For more than forty years, Doris has been deeply devoted to the House of the Lord Church. Her active presence and unwavering loyalty have touched so many lives—including mine—and her generous contributions continue to inspire those around her. She’s not just a valuable member but she is my tribe sister and an essential part of our community,” Rev. Dr. Karen S. Daughtry, Pastor.
“Cynthia Doris Pinn is truly a woman of distinction, a role model, an influential leader in the community and someone who exemplifies volunteer excellence. Her dedication to Community Board #3 has been evident for more than 25 years. Doris exemplifies what it means to be a volunteer agent of change in today’s world,” Anthony Buissereth, Chairperson, Community Board #3K.
And serving community-based organizations is what Ms. Pinn has done with distinction for over 50 years. In Ms. Pinn’s paid professional life, four of her three positions were with startup organizations, establishing their financial systems and practices. Her last job before retirement was executive director of one of those startups. Under her leadership that organization’s funding grew from $700,000 to $5 million.
Then she returned to her love: volunteering. “Mahatma Ghandi famously said, ‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.’ I have been fortunate,” she said. Ms. Pinn has words of wisdom for young people seeking to find their way in the city and world: First, she states adamantly, “Know your history!” “Know about the struggle so you don’t lose the power that you should have as a result of the struggle we have come through,” she told Our Time Press. Second, keep the faith! “I am a woman of faith,” said Ms. Pinn, a longtime member of the House of the Lord Pentecostal Church, known for its justice activism over the years. “You have to believe. And you have to understand that with faith, even when things are not as you might want, God is always on time. ‘He may not come when you want Him, but He’s always on time.”
(Yvette Moore is a contributing writer to Our Time Press and an YA author living in Crown Heights.)
